AARON ECKHART AND SIR BEN KINGSLEY STAR IN RENNY HARLIN’S SURVIVAL THRILLER “DEEP WATER” FROM SIMMONS/HAMILTON PRODUCTIONS
Arclight Films Handling Worldwide Sales
Golden Globe-nominee and Independent Spirit Award-winner Aaron Eckhart (Warner Bros.’ blockbuster The Dark Knight, Clint Eastwood’s Sully), Academy Award-winner Sir Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Molly Wright (Netflix’s True Spirit, Lionsgate’s upcoming The Best Christmas Pageant Ever), Angus Sampson (Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer,” FX’s “Fargo,” George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road) and Kelly Gale (Netflix’s film Uglies, Lionsgate’s Plane starring Gerard Butler) star in the epic survival thriller Deep Water, it was announced today. The film is directed by the acclaimed Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, Deep Blue Sea), who directs Lionsgate’s upcoming The Strangers: Chapter 1, and is written by Pete Bridges and John Kim.
The thriller also features the Chinese singer and actor Li Wenhan, member of the commercially successful Chinese-Korean K-Pop group UNIQ (awarded Best New Artist by KU Music Asian Music Awards) and star of popular TV dramas including Youku’s “Hot Blood Academy” and IQIYI’s “The Flowers are Blooming.” Rounding out the cast is Chinese actress Nashi, who gained attention last year for her role in the award-winning Chinese box-office behemoth Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms, and can next be seen in the trilogy’s two upcoming sequels.
The film is a Simmons/Hamilton Production, the standalone banner launched in Cannes by the legendary rocker and Kiss co-founder Gene Simmons and Gary Hamilton, Chairman of Arclight Films. Deep Water was the first film greenlit under the new company.
Deep Water is produced by Arclight Films’ Ying Ye, Gabba Post’s Neal Kingston, Aristos Films’ Grant Bradley and Dale Bradley, and Nostromo Pictures’ Adrian Guerra and Xavier Parache. Brian Beckmann and Ryan Hamilton from Arclight Films are executive producing with Vladimir Artemenko from Top Film Distribution, along with Rob Van Norden and Johanna Harlin.
Arclight Films is representing worldwide rights to Deep Water and is continuing sales at the European Film Market. Production wrapped at the end of 2023 in New Zealand and Spain and is currently in post-production in Australia.
“Deep Water offered me an epic canvas to work on, which I’ve dreamed of since seeing the original The Poseidon Adventure in a movie theater as a kid in Finland. My superb cast stood by my side valiantly through a rigorous shoot of barrel rolling planes, tidal waves of water and ferocious sharks. This film is my tribute to all the action, imagination, emotion and beauty that made movie making the first love of my life. I can’t wait to show the audiences around the world what an emotional rollercoaster we have created,” said director Renny Harlin.
“Fortune has smiled on us and we are delighted to be working with some of the most talented and creative individuals in the world from New Zealand, Australia, and Spain. We have such a superb ensemble cast led by the talented Aaron Eckhart and Sir Ben Kingsley. With action maven Renny Harlin at the helm, Deep Water is a non-stop thrill ride for the ages, with depth, emotion…and sharks!” added Arclight Films Chairman Gary Hamilton.
“I am pumped and excited to be launching Deep Water as our first project together with Gary Hamilton and the team at Arclight Films. Director Renny Harlin is bold and fearless and is truly in his element in this intense and suspenseful survival thriller – it’s a high-octane, seat-of-your-pants adventure that audiences love,” commented Gene Simmons.
“We are honored to be partnering with such a strong team of international filmmakers. We have always focussed on producing commercially attractive projects with strong international appeal and Deep Water is an incredibly exciting film. We expect it to become a great action classic,” noted New Zealand producers Grant and Dale Bradley.
Deep Water tells the adventurous tale of an eclectic group of international passengers whose plane, en route from LA to Shanghai, is forced to make an emergency landing in shark infested waters. The terrified group is forced to work together and overcome their differences if they hope to escape their sinking plane and the frenzy of sharks drawn to the wreckage.
Aaron Eckhart received a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Nick Naylor in Jason Reitman’s acclaimed Thank You for Smoking and received an Independent Spirit Award for his breakout performance in Neil LaBute’s In the Company of Men. He starred in Warner Bros.’ blockbuster Batman film The Dark Knight as District Attorney Harvey Dent and in Lionsgate’s Rabbit Hole opposite Nicole Kidman. Additional film credits include Warner Bros.’ Sully starring Tom Hanks, Roland Emmerich’s Midway, Steven Soderbergh’s Erin Brockovich and Ben Younger’s Bleed for This.
Sir Ben Kingsley won an Academy Award for his performance in Richard Attenborough’s award-sweeping Ghandi. He then went on to earn three additional nominations for Barry Levinson’s Bugsy, Twentieth Century Fox’s Sexy Beast and House of Sand and Fog with Jennifer Connelly. Additional credits include Shutter Island alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo, Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, Marvel Studios’ Iron Man 3 and, most recently, Mary Harron’s Daliland and Marc Turtletaub’s Jules.
Molly Wright is an exciting young talent who just wrapped a lead role in Lionsgate’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, directed by Dallas Jenkins (The Chosen). Molly will also be seen later this year in the indie feature, Omaha, where she stars opposite John Magaro (Past Lives). Molly rose to global fame at the age of 7 when she delivered a TED Talk on behalf of the Minderoo Foundation on “How To Thrive By Five,” making Molly the world’s youngest ever TED speaker.
Legendary rocker and Kiss co-founder Gene Simmons and Gary Hamilton, Chairman of leading sales and production company Arclight Films, launched Simmons/Hamilton Productions in May, a far-reaching partnership to develop, finance and produce feature films. The standalone banner will produce 25 movies over an initial five-year period, with a focus on action, thriller and genre titles with global franchise potential.
Arclight Films’ current slate of films includes Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada starring Richard Gere, Uma Thurman, Michael Imperioli and Jacob Elordi; Stefan Ruzowitzky’s thriller Ice Fall starring Joel Kinnaman and Cara Jade Myers; Assassination starring Viggo Mortensen, Al Pacino, Shia LaBeouf and John Travolta, written by David Mamet and directed by Barry Levinson and the comedy Arthur’s Whisky starring Academy Award-winner Diane Keaton, Patricia Hodge and the legendary Scottish singer/actress Lulu.
Eckhart is repped by CAA and Hirsch, Wallerstein, Hayum, Matlof & Fishman; Kingsley is repped by CAA, ITG and Rick Genow; Wright is repped by Crimson Media and Industry Entertainment.
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